What counts as gross income for filing?

What gross income includes

The publication defines gross income as everything you receive in the form of money, goods, property and services that is not exempt from tax. That includes income from sources outside the United States, and the amount from the sale of your main home even if you can exclude part or all of it. A person living abroad counts income earned abroad, including income that can be excluded under the foreign earned income exclusion. If you live in a community property state, half of income that state law treats as community income may be yours.

Social security benefits are left out unless one of two things is true: you are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time in 2025, or one-half of your benefits plus your other gross income and any tax-exempt interest is more than $25,000 ($32,000 if married filing jointly). If either applies, check the social security rules to see how much is included.

Self-employed people use gross receipts

For a service business your gross income is the gross receipts, not the profit. For a business involving manufacturing, merchandising or mining it is total sales minus cost of goods sold. Either way you add investment income and income from incidental or outside operations. A freelancer with $18,000 of receipts and $6,500 of expenses has gross income of $18,000 for the filing test, so a single filer under 65 passes the $15,750 line and must file, even though the profit is $11,500. Separately, net self-employment earnings of $400 or more require a return under Table 3, whatever your gross income.

Table 1: the 2025 thresholds

You file if gross income was at least: single, $15,750 (under 65) or $17,750 (65 or older); head of household, $23,625 or $25,625; married filing jointly, $31,500 if both spouses are under 65, $33,100 if one is 65 or older, $34,700 if both are; qualifying surviving spouse, $31,500 or $33,100. Married filing separately is just $5 at any age. A joint filer who did not live with their spouse at the end of 2025, or on the date the spouse died, and has gross income of at least $5 must file regardless of age. You count as 65 for 2025 if you were born before January 2, 1961. These rules apply even if you owe no tax, and a penalty can apply if you must file and do not.

Dependents use a different table

If someone else can claim you, use Table 2. For a single dependent who is under 65 and not blind, you file if unearned income is more than $1,350, earned income is more than $15,750, or gross income is more than the larger of $1,350 or your earned income (up to $15,300) plus $450. The 65-or-older and blind amounts are higher. This is a different test from the $5,200 gross income limit for being claimed; see the dependent gross income limit page.

Worked example

A single 40-year-old earned $12,000 in wages and $300 in interest, so gross income is $12,300, under $15,750. Table 1 does not require a return. But the publication says you should file anyway if you can get money back, such as when income tax was withheld, you made estimated payments, or you qualify for the earned income credit, the additional child tax credit, the refundable American opportunity credit or the premium tax credit. Enter your numbers above to compare them with the right line.

Other situations that require a return

Table 3 lists reasons to file even under the threshold. They include owing a special tax reported on Schedule 2, such as alternative minimum tax, additional tax on an IRA or other qualified plan, unreported tip or household employment tax; receiving Archer MSA, Medicare Advantage MSA or health savings account distributions; net self-employment earnings of $400 or more; church wages of $108.28 or more from an exempt church-controlled employer; advance payments of the premium tax credit; section 965 amounts; and having transferred a clean vehicle credit to a dealer. A Form 1099-B or 1099-DA with a blank basis box can also be a reason to file to avoid a notice.

A person who died

A return is required for a decedent if the spouse died or you are the executor, administrator or legal representative, and the decedent met the filing requirements at death. The age-65 rule works differently for someone who died; see who files for a taxpayer who died.

Sources

• IRS Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information (2025): Who Must File (Table 1, Gross income, Self-employed persons, Filing status, Age, Deceased Persons, Table 2, U.S. Citizens or Resident Aliens Living Abroad, Table 3, Who Should File). Read November 2, 2026.

Edition read: Publication 501 (2025), for use in preparing 2025 returns. Dollar limits and dates in this publication are for 2025; check the current publication and form instructions for your tax year. This page summarizes the publication and does not replace it.